Sometimes it’s good to change things up from time to time…
Well, that’s the excuse I’m using for this late edition of my “Monday” morning column.
Nevertheless, here’s what I’m thinking this week.
The NFL Draft will likely be much kinder to quarterbacks in 2023.
After Kenny Pickett was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the other quarterbacks on the board sat and waited.
While three were projected to be possible first or second round picks in what had been considered as a weak quarterback class, Malik Willis, Desmond Ridder and company had to wait until the middle of the second day to see another signal caller come off the board.
Starting with Ridder at No. 74 to the Atlanta Falcons, eight other quarterbacks were picked including Willis (Tennessee Titans) and former Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral (Carolina Panthers) in the third round.
While I was watching this draft, seeing Pickett selected at No. 20 and no others selected, I couldn’t help but think about how this will not be happening in 2023.
Possibly, a quarterback could be the first name called.
According to multiple way-too-early mock drafts for 2023, the general consensus seems that Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be the first name called at Arrowhead Stadium next April, while some have Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and others have Alabama defensive end Will Anderson Jr. as potential candidates for that top spot.
On paper, especially heading into the 2022 season, it doesn’t seem to be a particularly deep class, with players like Florida’s Anthony Richardson, Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec, Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke, NC State’s Devin Leary, Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong, Pittsburgh’s Kedon Slovis, Stanford’s Tanner McKee, Kentucky’s Will Levis and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler all showing up in a mock draft or two.
But unlike the 2022 Draft, it seems likely that Stroud and Young could have homes before the first five picks are complete, maybe even the first two.
The odds echo this same sentiment.
Who’s at the top? Stroud (+200), Young (+250) and Anderson (+300) according to BetOnline, which seems smart to put money on being the first three players off the board in April 2023.
But Stroud has the chance to not even be the first player from Ohio State selected.
Offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (+900) and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (16/1) have the fourth- and fifth-best odds to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, giving Ohio State three of the top five slots.
Not a bad recruiting pitch, huh?
So what numbers do Stroud and Smith-Njigba need to put up to cement themselves as that first player taken?
Let’s start with the quarterbacks....
Read the rest of the column in The Horseshoe Lounge.
